Church-Based Emotional Support and Negative Interactions Among Older African Americans and Black Caribbeans.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigates church-based informal social support among older African Americans and Black Caribbeans. In particular, we examine the correlates of receiving emotional support as well as negative interactions (e.g., criticisms) from church members. METHODS: The analysis is based on the older African American (n = 829) and Black Caribbean (n = 271) subsample of the National Survey of American Life. The analysis utilizes multiple group structural equation modeling (SEM) to test a model of church support networks. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between older African Americans and older Black Caribbeans in the frequency of service attendance, contact with church members (seeing, writing, talking), emotional support from church members, or negative interactions with church members. However, a comparison of SEM analysis indicates that the number and pattern of relationships are different. For instance, among African Americans church attendance was associated with emotional support, but among Black Caribbeans attendance did not have a direct or indirect effect on emotional support. Our findings also indicate that among older African Americans, women attend religious services more frequently and both receive emotional support and engage in negative interactions with church members more frequently than men. Among Black Caribbeans, however, men attend religious services less frequently than women but also have more negative interactions with church members. DISCUSSION: For both African American and Black Caribbean older adults, church members are an important element of their social support networks. Our analysis also underscores the importance of contact with church members for receiving emotional support for both populations.

Piloting participatory action research: Community as intermediary to education pathways of Congolese refugee youth.

OBJECTIVES: This pilot participatory action research (PAR) is aimed at increasing educational opportunities for refugee youth by demystifying higher education and providing relevant information. The project also aims to develop empirical knowledge regarding refugee youth's life trajectories and barriers to higher education, which informs collective action to enhance educational policies and programs for refugee youth. METHOD: In collaboration with community and student organizations in a midwestern urban area of the United States, we organized a higher education pathway program for Congolese refugee youth and community leaders aspiring to pursue higher education. Seven individuals attended a 1-day program, with a workshop, campus tour, and meeting with university administrators, and participated, along with two others, in a life history calendar interview. This article analyzes the PAR processes and interviews with participants. RESULTS: In addition to individual-level factors such as limited knowledge about college, various structural-level factors (i.e., school policies, procedures) impede education of refugee youth. Our analysis highlights the community as a source of both support and responsibility for refugee youth. Results show the need to educate the community about higher education but also the need to educate the university about refugee education and the community's pivotal role in doing so. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings offer a three-level (individual, structural, and community) framework of education pathways for resettled refugees. A critical analysis of how factors at multiple levels interact and produce unique challenges and possibilities furthers the field of refugee studies and also informs more holistic, sustainable policies and programs for refugee education. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Examining first-generation college student lived experiences with microaggressions and microaffirmations at a predominately White public research university.

OBJECTIVES: Studies have described the experiences of racial microaggressions in everyday life and on college campuses, yet prior research has not explored how microaggressions and microaffirmations are experienced by students who are first in their family to attend college. METHOD: This qualitative investigation of 296 open-ended survey responses described the lived experiences of first-generation college students at a large, public, predominately White institution. RESULTS: Students experienced microaggressions in the form microinsults, microassaults, and microinvalidations, and microaffirmations in the form of microsupports, microcompliments, and microvalidations on campus. CONCLUSIONS: Study implications include the development and implementation of regular positive and intentional communications by faculty, staff, and peers on college campuses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

A brief telephone interview to identify lesbian and bisexual women in random digit dialing sampling.

Lesbian health research has most often relied on nonprobability samples that are biased and restrict generalizability. Random sampling could reduce bias, but requires development of a method for fast and reliable screening of a large number of women. We tested the feasibility of using a brief telephone interview to assess sexual attraction, behavior, and identity. Using Random Digit Dialing in a neighborhood of Boston with a high density of lesbian residents, we interviewed 202 women aged 18 to 59. Of the respondents, 33% reported some sexual attraction to other women, 20% reported sex with women since age 18, and 14% identified as a lesbian. The high level of cooperation with the study among eligible women (94%) and the high proportion of women who disclosed homosexual attraction, behavior, or identity show that it is feasible to use a brief screening questionnaire about sexuality of women over the telephone even without building special rapport with the respondents.

Education related to organ donation and transplantation in undergraduate nursing schools: 1993 versus 2000.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the change in the amount and type of content related to organ donation and transplantation in US nursing schools from 1993 to 2000. METHODS: A survey of 700 nursing schools was conducted in 2000, and its results were compared with results of a similar survey conducted in 1993. Three hundred fifty schools (53.3%) completed the 2000 survey, and 426 (61%) completed the 1993 survey. RESULTS: Although the amount of time dedicated to donation (P = .82) and transplantation (P = .26) issues did not change significantly, the number and types of topics presented, such as minority concerns and cultural issues, increased significantly. There was also a significant increase (P = .002) in faculty ratings of whether it is important to expose new graduates to this content. A significant increase was also observed in the number of schools that reported that organ procurement professionals presented such content to students (31% to 42%, P = .006). CONCLUSION: Although the amount of time spent on these issues has not increased, the number of topics that are now included in the nursing curriculum has increased. In 2000, nursing faculty perceived such content as more important to include in the school's curriculum than in 1993. This change in perception may be a first step in creating a nursing workforce that is knowledgeable about organ donation and transplantation.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest in Athletic Medicine.

OBJECTIVE: To emphasize the importance of decreasing the response time by a trained target responder to increase the survival rate among athletes experiencing sudden cardiac arrest at an athletic event. BACKGROUND: Death due to sudden cardiac arrest that is witnessed is preventable in many cases. However, most people who experience this condition die because of a prolonged response time from onset of the fatal arrhythmia to defibrillation by trained treatment providers. If athletic trainers or other members of the athletic care medical team are trained as target responders and equipped with automated electronic defibrillators, they can immediately treat an athlete who experiences a sudden, life-threatening tachyarrhythmia. This prompt response to the life-threatening emergency should result in a higher survival rate. DESCRIPTION: We review the causes of sudden cardiac arrest during athletic events, note some unusual clinical presentations, discuss improved methods of response and new equipment for treatment, and define the athletic trainer's role as a target responder trained to treat people experiencing sudden cardiac arrest at an athletic event. CLINICAL ADVANTAGES: An athletic care team willing to become part of an emergency response team can help improve the survival rate of athletes experiencing sudden cardiac arrest at an athletic event.